Living constructively, adapting, and outwitting the odds

Category Archives: radical presence/radical acceptance

The same thinking that underlies racism, sexism, and classism underlies the thinking that says, “Hey, let’s get rid of health care coverage for those who aren’t federal politicians, well-employed, or wealthy.” The bottom line is treating people as things, and money as the thing of most value. All humans have … Continue reading →

With the kind consent of the friend mentioned, I post the following exercise in “radical presence”, or staying sane in spite of the craziness… Bubbles of thoughts are rising through the viscidity of my mind, drifting from side to side, now tending one way, now tending another. Feels like a relapse of … Continue reading →

Remapping and the primitive brain are key concepts that come up often for people with chronic pain — though we don’t always know it. These underlie some treatment strategies that seem, at on the surface, anything from absurd to cruel from the perspective of the stressed patient. They also underlie a couple of those chronic misunderstandings … Continue reading →

Guess what? Everything’s up in the air, except me. But don’t worry, it’ll work out. And that, folks, is how you know I’m back in the saddle. I’m not naturally a nervous person, but the years of system and systematic abuse on top of the fried central nervous system left me … Continue reading →

I used to run between 3 and 12 miles, 3 to 5 times per week. Not so much because I wanted to be One Of Those Running Addicts, charging along with a ghastly snarl carved into their faces while insisting they were having a marvelous time. Initially, because I had … Continue reading →

I’m doing a sort of elimination testing to refine what nuts and seeds, under what conditions, cause the troubles I howled about last week. It’s possible there might be a way I could keep some in my diet; we shall see. More on my guts later. I want to share … Continue reading →

While I was mulling the constancy of nausea and yuckiness, looking for a reason more useful than “it’s winter”, I realized I had relentless cascades of post-nasal drip. The stomach isn’t too fond of relentless cascades of post-nasal drip, because the glucoprotein complex generically called “mucus”, which we usually call … Continue reading →

I’ve been mulling this for years and occasionally blog it on a case-by-case basis: Handling bereavement (with digressions): http://livinganyway.com/wp/2014/03/08/threads-on-the-loom-bereavement-and-crps/ An anxiety toolkit I came up with for myself: http://livinganyway.com/wp/2016/01/27/handling-anxiety-and-its-obnoxious-little-friends/ On a surprisingly useful tool which really does help (despite my complaining): http://livinganyway.com/wp/2013/07/16/relentless/ Fortunately for all of us, the blogger at Elle and the Autognome has done … Continue reading →

I switched to a new insurance company that might provide dental care. I haven’t tried them on that yet, but I will. It’s on the agenda for this year. They want to pre-authorize my main neurological med, Savella. This is the main med that keeps my pain under some kind … Continue reading →

I have written about dealing with careless, ignorant, detached, and outright bad doctors, which is needful and — given the many problematic layers of living with chronic, intransigent pain — appropriate. However, I’m also a nurse, and I really do see things from both sides. You’re both right. Having said that, I … Continue reading →